My discussion here is a rating of the 1st edition and the author, Professor R.C. Hibbeler. The first edition is the one I used in my course of study while in college.
Granted the book does not offer a lot of complicated examples, only relatively easy ones. But there is a reason. The author wants the student to develop his/her own skills in problem solving. He does explain the material in enough detail to accomplish this. The reasons for not supplying a solutions manual should be obvious.
This book does a great job of supplying a very large and diverse collection of problem. The illustrations are very helpful with the problem solving exercise. As best I can recall, answers are provided to all even numbered problems.
As a text book and learning tool, the author should (and does) assume that the reader is a aspiring engineering student with intension on learning the most from the subject.
As I said earlier, its strengths are the number of problems presented in the text and the fact that the answers to most all of the problems are in the back of the book.
The book covers all the basic subjects required for a future understanding of Mechanics of Materials, usually presented later on in your continuing engineering studies. I do recommend it as a text book for a basic entry level engineering statics course, and it is great for the beginning engineering student for first year engineering students. It is also a great tool for preparation and to improve your understanding of other classes such as calculus, physics, dynamics.
As for the author, he is top notch. You can be assured this professor knows his subject. Just look at the various other books written by him: Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics, Mechanics of Materials, Structural Analysis. But this does not always make a good teacher. However, this professor is a great teacher. For no other reason, simply because he was my instructor at the University Of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University Of Louisiana At Lafayette) |
Engineering Mechanics - Statics (11th Edition) Books In Print, Audio Books.